CITY HALL MOVES TO END PADRES TV STALEMATE

San Diego 
With baseball season a month away, local politicians have begun to pressure Time Warner Cable to end a yearlong impasse with Fox Sports San Diego over carrying Padres games.

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner sent top Time Warner Cable executives in New York City a letter on Feb. 11, saying he would “do everything in (his) power” to resolve a stalemate that affects about 185,000 customers.

Friday, one day after the U-T published Filner’s letter, San Diego City Councilwoman Sherri Lightner announced she would hold a public hearing this month to explore how the city could resolve the stalemate.

“The city of San Diego needs to explore all its options to see how it can help deliver the Padres to the people,” Lightner said in a statement.

The development was welcome to the U-T inspired “Padres to the People” campaign to get more games on TV.

One reader emailed the U-T Friday: “I’ve never been to any meeting or hearing of the City Council, but I’ll move heaven & earth to be at this one!”

Time Warner Cable spokesman Dennis Johnson had this reaction: “We maintain open lines of communication with all the elected officials in the areas we serve to make sure we’re hearing both their concerns and those of their constituents. We always welcome an open conversation, but this is a dispute between two private parties.”

Lightner didn’t announce a date or a time for the meeting, but she asked City Attorney Jan Goldsmith to prepare a report “on our rights as a city and as a cable television franchisor” by March 20.

Time Warner Cable’s franchise agreement to operate in certain parts of the city, generally north of the San Diego River, runs through 2020.

Fox Sports San Diego has agreements with four other TV providers — Cox Cable, DirecTV, AT&T U-Verse and Dish — to carry Padres games this year.